Sub placement??

[jssong]

I was originally going to go with a audiobahn awt12.. a 2000 watt rms sub and place it in the currently stock sub location. However, i was convinced that getting 3 alum 12 subs were going to be similar in cost.. but yield greater power. I just dont know how to place the 3 subs .. any ideas? i wana use as little space as possible, and still get great sound. I was thinkin upward facing, so id lose about a foot and half lengthwise,, and about a foot or less vertical.. right behind the passenger seat. Any suggestions??

 

[leenjen]

that will work, but you will get higher SPL with them facing the rear. either way, three 1000 watt subs will sound good and hit hard. those alums have great SQ, and they can hit really hard.

 

[brent239]

How will fit a 12" sub in that spot. Are you gonna build a custom box or what. And how much airspace is that 1 12 gonna take. The only thing to think about is all of that space you are losing. That is why I bought an X

 

[leenjen]

well, that 12" (the AWT12X) would never in the stock location, no matter what kind of custom box you fab. you might be able to get it to fit, but it wont sound good due to lack of enclosure volume.
it needs plenty of airspace. the excursion on that thing is amazing. and you would have a really hard time fitting the double stacked 250oz. magnets.
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[jssong]

well the idea of puttin that 12 in was that i know itz gonna stick out alot, but i was gonna do it anyways.. but 3 alum12 subs will sound better i think.. clarity and quality wise... so now the only thing is how to place 3 subs... definately not in that compartment.. but so it takes up minimul room

 

[leenjen]

make a box for the three subs behind the rear seat. make it so that it goes all the way from the right to left (so you can get as much airspace as possible without losing cargo area). if you have the subs rear facing, you will only lose about 10" of cargo space . you can also stack stuff on top of the enclosure if you ever fill up the back.

 

[mrsteve]

Yeah leenjen is right make the enclosure face the rear hatch and have it stretch the full length of the rear cargo area. If you build the box your self make sure you use braces inside the box cause with a box that big and that long you run the risk of having your 3 subs rip the box apart.

Steve

 

[bigtigexplorer]

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This is the box I have in my X, as you can it does take up too much room. With two 12s its only 8" deep and 14" high. I'm pretty sure you can fit 3 12s all side by side, but if you took my box, made it about 4" inches taller and pushed the subs over to each side. You could put the third sub in the center slighty higher than the other two, kind of like a diamond pattern. I think that would look pretty sweet and sound better than having the sub facing up.

If you tell me the air space requirements, I might be able to draw up some rough plans with dimensions of the box I described.

Here are a couple of pics that I had of other enclosure designs.:
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[bigtigexplorer]

Here is the box I was talking about:
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If this pic stops working click on the "Lots-O-Pics" link in my signature and enter the user name and password. The pic is in the "Misc. Pictures" album, be sure to click on the "View original" link on the left of the picture to see the full size picture.

 

[92explorer_kid]

Well I would just make a box and face it UP. I think facing it up in a suv is teh best cause you heari it better, and on teh outside of ur truck it is not rattleing your hatch as muhc, eventhough with 2000 watts of power, it is still goin to rattle, plus if you place a lot of things in ur hatch, there is less of a risk of denting the alum's

 

[leenjen]

what do you mean "hear it better"??
when the subs are rear facing you actually get an increase in SPL over facing them up. there are subwoofer grilles (or you could custom make one) to prevent anything from damaging the cone.

 

[EO]

Why do you get more SPL with subs facing rear?

 

[leenjen]

i dont know the physics of it, but i think it has something to do with the disturbance in the air between the subwoofer and the rear panel.

but real world experience is how i know for sure. every customer that i have installed for that questioned which way to face the subs, decided to go rear facing after hearing it. the bass hit much harder. i used to have an SPL meter that you put on the dash (it only went up to 150db, but it was still cool). there was always an increase in db/spl when the subs were rear facing. usually it was as much as +3db (which is double the bass).

there are a few website that explain this scientifically. if i can find the addresses, i will post them.

 

[RFR2212]

Here's a pic of mine... If it doesn't show, or photopoint denies me, click my link... they should be there. I got Eclipse aluminums... They kick ass!
Pete
I HATE photopoint, but am too lazy to change over.

 

[92explorer_kid]

well leenjen, your probably right, i really dont know much, but I was told that the subs facing up sounded better than them facing the hatch. And it seemed right because you dont have teh bass being dirrected right at the hatch and right now with my bass up and my subs facing up the hacth rattles like a **** so it just seemed like it would be worse with them facing the hatch. Ill ahve to try them facing teh hatch, but if it rattles to much, i am goin to have to put them back facing up even if it is louder teh otehr way, cause it sounds liek sh** with the hatch rattleing on the outside. YOu know anyway I could stop this. I notcie that it is teh whiper and the handle that shack?

 

[leenjen]

to stop the rattling inside, try dynamat (or similar generic brand) and rubberized undercoating. if you do searches for sound proofing, sound deadening, rattles, etc... you will find plenty of info.

the wiper will only stop rattling if you take it off. but you shouldn't be able to hear it inside anyway. or if it's loud enough, you wont hear it over the subs outside.

 

[EO]

there are a few website that explain this scientifically. if i can find the addresses, i will post them.

I believe you, but it would be interesting to know exactly why. One obvious difference is the distance between the roof and the floor, vs the hatch and the front of the X. Maybe the sound waves tend to cancel each other out more as they bounce from roof to floor, whereas not as much from front to back due to a greater distance...?

 

[leenjen]

yeah, you're on the right track. what you are saying could be right.
the sound waves from lower frequencies are slower and travel further. you brought up a good point when you said the distance from the hatch to the front (actually the sound waves travel from the sub to the hatch, to the front. which is a longer distance then when facing up, it only travels from the sub to the front). to see how the sound waves travel further:

turn up your system and stand outside next to the door. notice how loud the bass is. then move to the front of the explorer. notice that the bass is louder. then stand about 40 feet in front of your explorer. now the bass is MUCH louder. the sine waves travel great distances. that is why you can set off car alarms from across a parking lot...

 

[EO]

Yep, lower frequencies, longer wavelengths...I'm sure there's a formula in there somewhere!

On a different but related subject - a friend of mine recently set up his home theater. The powered sub was in the back corner of the room, but the bass felt like it was eminating directly from the front of the TV. It's one thing to read about bass being omnidirectional, but experiencing it is something else...